Tyler, The Creator had what may arguably be his most creatively fulfilling studio outing this year, release his album Flower Boy to great admiration and praise from both fans and critics. Debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart, it was a financial success too and will now more than likely go down as the rapper's strongest work to date. Despite all of these accolades and milestones, sometimes it's the simplest pleasures of being an artist that can have the biggest impact or reward on you personally. For a musician of any kind, this might be hearing your song play on the radio. In the case of Tyler, his reaction says it all.
Shaking his head in stunned silence before finally uttering "I'm so happy," a video of the emcee's reaction to hearing the Flower Boy track "See You Again" play through his car stereo is a magical moment, giving way to the unfiltered bliss of having all the hours of hard put in during the writing and recording process more than worth it. A rare candid look into Tyler's life, one he normally chooses to keep relatively private, is also something that fans will be fascinated by. He performed the song on The Tonight Show along with Kali Uchis at the end of September, with dim lighting and the smooth sound of violin accompaniment adding the emotional mood that Tyler was hoping to convey. You can watch that performance below.
"See You Again" wasn't originally supposed to be Tyler's song to release either. As per our previous report, the song was meant for Zayn, the former One Direction band member, after he had heard a remix that Tyler did to his track "Pillowtalk." However, the rapper later revealed on Twitter that, after Zayn bailed twice on him for pre-planned studio time, he decided to keep the record for himself - a decision that couldn't have panned out any better for him. One can only imagine what the alternate version would have sounded like, but many hip-hop fans will likely agree that, after hearing Tyler's version, the song may have gone amiss in someone else's hands.